Jet-set lifestyle
A US District Court in Jacksonville, Florida has accused a former finance manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars of stealing over $22m from the NFL franchise to bankroll his jet-set lifestyle.
used the money to gamble online, buy a condo in Ponte Vedra Beach, charter private jets
Amit Patel allegedly used the money to gamble online, buy a condo in Ponte Vedra Beach, charter private jets, and book luxury hotels. The court filing doesn’t stop there, listing a Nissan pickup, a Tesla Model 3 sedan, cryptocurrency, NFTs, sports memorabilia, and a luxury watch worth over $95,000, as just some of Patel’s other reported purchases.
Earlier this week, according to The Athletic, Department of Justice prosecutors charged Patel with wire fraud and illegal monetary transaction. Patel’s alleged pilfering from the NFL franchise ran from 2018 until he was fired in February 2023.
Credit card hustle
Court documents reveal Patel was a Financial Planning and Analysis Manager for the Jaguars in his most recent role. As such, according to The Athletic, Patel became administrator of the NFL team’s virtual credit card (VCC) program.
Under the VCC program, court papers state, Patel allegedly began cooking the books with fraudulent transactions.
entered completely fictitious transactions”
The filing states Patel covered up his dealings by identifying “reoccurring VCC transactions, such as catering, airfare, and hotel charges” and duplicating them, while also overstating the costs of legitimate reoccurring transactions. It adds that Patel “entered completely fictitious transactions that might sound plausible, but that never actually occurred.”
As Patel used the VCC program to allegedly bankroll his champagne lifestyle, he eventually came to the attention of FBI and the US Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida (USAO-MDF).
The Jaguars in a statement said the franchise had “cooperated fully” with both the FBI and USAO-MDF investigations into its former employee. The team stated Patel “took advantage of his trusted position to covertly and intentionally commit significant fraudulent financial activity at the team’s expense for personal benefit.”
Big questions
The Athletic noted that the court filing did not name exactly what Patel bet on online.
“Asked if the team wished to comment on that allegation, a Jaguars spokesperson declined,” the media outlet stated.
Another big question for the Jaguars this week is the injury to quarterback Trevor Lawrence. While not as bad as the Bengals’ Joe Burrow or the Giants’ Daniel Jones, Lawrence’s injury adds to a freakish QB-hobbling bug which has seen odds shift significantly below the Jaguars as C.J. Beathard takes over the Jags’ playmaker helm.